Model 37 with 3" Barrel

New to me Model 37 with character.



Most of the blue finish has worn from the cylinder but its tight. Paid $225 OTD. Anybody have anything good or bad to say about these little airweights?

Are the 3" barrels rare? I might try to have it refinished. Should I leave it original?

Serial # is 76J1XX. Any help on identifying a year to determine how old it is will be appreciated.

Nice, light, little aluminum-framed (Airweight) J-frame . . . with a 3" barrel that's really easy to hit with!

Is the 3" rare? Well, far less of this model came with the 3" option BUT . . . S&W J frames have always been the company's biggest sellers so they surely aren't rare. Maybe a better description might be that they are not seen very often . . . since most people hang onto their little J-frames!

My wife's CCW revolver is exactly like yours, and also wearing its original wood stocks, and from the same time period too!

It looks like the gun has some character, and that's NOT a bad thing for this veteran "working" gun! It was probably carried a bunch at some time in the past, but probably not shot a lot.

REFINISHING?
Refinishing will be difficult matching the bluing on the steel barrel and cylinder with the different black finish required for the aluminum part.

Buffing the gun before refinishing will "soften" the lettering and, in the end you'll spend a lot of money and the gun will still scream "refinished." Generally refinishing LOWERS the price of a gun.

It's your gun however and you should do what will make you happy! There's no good vs. bad decision!!!

CHECK FOR GOOD CONDITION . . .
Also, open the cylinder, turn the gun so the top of the revolver is down, and make sure that the aluminum frame isn't split or cracked where the barrel goes into the frame. It doesn't happen too often (due to shooting lots of really hot ammo usually) but if there's a crack then the frame is no good and the gun would be dangerous. However, I doubt you'll find there's a problem with it!!!

BTW . . . My wife and I both carry vintage Model 37 Airweights, both made around 1971, as our CCW handguns (though mine has the snubbie barrel). They are great little "pocket rockets." I really like the 3" barreled version too!


YEAR MADE?
I'll defer this to someone with the serial number dates, but yours and ours were made in the "floating J" serial number era. My letter J came after three digits first though, and then followed by two final digits. Your "J" floated to a different spot so I really don't know.

I'm sure someone will answer this date question soon!

Five-digit "floating-j" serial number indicates 1971.

My wife has one as her carry gun. Has a similar revolver with a steel frame as her practice gun. Not sure of the model number but both have 3" skinny or pencil barrels, square butts and fixed sights.

She absolutely loves hers. With the small service style grips she prefers, they wack my 2nd finger so they are no fun for me to shoot. With different grips, I'd like them a lot but they are her guns, not mine.

I had to settle for a 3" M60 with adjustable sights chambered in .357 and an Airweight Centennial. With grips that I like, they are fine revolvers as well but not as classic as my wife's.

I think you'll like it a lot.

Jim Keene

Thanks guys. I really like S&W revolvers from the early 70's.

I've been itching to do something interesting with a revolver concerning the finish but all that I have acquired prior to this one were in great shape. This little guy was cheap enough and I'm thinking that it may be a candidate for a hydro-wrap. We'll see after I stew on it for a few days.